Madre Fire containment up to 90 percent

A DC-10 drops fire retardant on a ridge Tuesday in the mountainous terrain north of Azusa in efforts to contain the Madre Fire. The blaze has scorched about 268 acres since it broke out Monday, U.S. Forest Service officials announced Wednesday. (Photo by Walt Mancini — Staff photographer)

MADRE FIRE

ACRES BURNED: 268 acres

CONTAINMENT: 90 percent

CAUSE: Unknown

INJURIES: 0

STRUCTURES DAMAGED: 0

Firefighters Wednesday extended containment lines around 90 percent of the Madre Fire smoldering into the Angeles Nation Forest north of Azusa, officials said.

The wildfire, at 268 acres in size, was expected to be fully contained by 8 a.m. Friday, U.S. Forest Service officials said in a written statement.

“We haven’t had any active flame since yesterday,” USFS Fire Information Officer Nathan Judy said, adding that firefighters were not in the “mop-up” phase of their work.

Firefighters on Wednesday worked to douse any hot spots that remained, so they could not be rekindled by wind, and to fully establish hand lines around the fire, Judy said.

But the last bits of unsecured fire line are expected to be the most challenging to complete, as they are in the most inaccessible areas of the forest, he added.

“It’s pretty nasty country in there,” Judy said.

San Gabriel Canyon Road and Encanto Parkway remained open only to residents.

The fire ignited about 6 p.m. Monday. The cause remained under investigation, USFS officials said.

Meanwhile, the cause of another recent nearby fire also remained unclear Wednesday, officials said.

The cause of the Shooting Fire, which scorched about 40 acres near Fish Canyon Road and El Encanto Parkway after breaking out Aug. 27, remained undetermined, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said.